Card game scoreboard

ABSTRACT

The card game scoreboard is a round peg tally board with concentric scoring tracks, lap tracks and game tracks with each track color coded to corresponding pegs for the respective players or teams. Provisions allow for the display of the bid and/or a named trump suit for card games using these features. Negative scoring can also be accommodated. The design provides a clear visual display of scoring for any game whose requisite number of points and/or games to win can be accumulated with pegs on a combination of scoring, lap and game tracks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH R DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK

[0003] Not Applicable

APPENDIX

[0004] Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention relates to a card game accessory that is a peg tally board and in particular a unique circular scoreboard with a combination of peg receiving tracks to accommodate accumulation of the requisite number of points needed to win any number of card games or versions thereof. Related classifications: 273/148R, 235/90.

[0006] Current scoring methods for card games include:

[0007] 1. Use of pencil-and-paper. This method of scoring games is essentially self-explanatory wherein each player and/or a scorekeeper records the number of points they or all players have earned and accumulates them until the requisite points are earned to win a game. The biggest downfall to pencil and paper is that the scores are not visible to players unless the scorekeeper passes the paper to them. Thus scoring mistakes are often overlooked.

[0008] 2. Use of poker chips. Each player or team begins with the number of chips needed to represent the number of points to win the game. Once the chips are moved, by earning points, from one place to another the game is won. Unfortunately, stacked chips can easily fall or be knocked off the table. They also clutter the table with multiple piles of chips leaving less room for snacks, beverages or ashtrays.

[0009] 3. Peg-type counters have been used particularly for cribbage. Although functional for use in cribbage games, cribbage boards regardless of deviations in types of construction, storage options or methods of play have proven unsatisfactory in scoring other games because the one hundred and twenty holes, usually in sets of 30, do not represent the ending scores of other games. U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,912 to Kendrick; U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,586 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,018 to Morse; U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,106 to Fink; U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,206 to Cohen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,443 to Ervin. Peg scoring euchre boards are very specific for that game and are not adaptable to other card games. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,386 to Townsend and U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,767 to Harden. Neither cribbage nor euchre boards address games in which there can be negative scoring. Also, the use of color indicators for each track that match the color of the players' pegs is unique to the card game scoreboard.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The card game scoreboard is designed to tabulate points for any card game whose requisite winning scores can be accumulated on a concentric score track or on a concentric score track in conjunction with a lap track and a game track. The invention has added features for games requiring bidding and/or the naming of a thump suit.

[0011] The use of two pegs per concentric track allows for an audit trail of the previous score. As points are earned the rear peg is moved in front of the forward peg that many points. If points are lost (negative scoring) the forward peg is moved behind the trailing peg that many points. A lap peg is moved from 0 to 1 when one lap of the concentric track has been made. It is moved to 2 when the second lap is made, etc. The total accumulated points for a player or team is the number of points on the circular track times the number of laps plus the points indicated by the placement of the forward peg on the circular track.

[0012] In bidding games, the amount bid is indicated by moving a separate peg of a different color ahead of the bidders forward peg. This provides a visual view of the challenge. In most games if the bid is not made the player goes “sets” and the forward peg is moved behind the bidder's trailing peg by the amount of the bid.

[0013] In games where trump or no trump is named, a peg of a separate color is placed in the appropriate symbol as a visual reminder.

[0014] Each set of tracks: a concentric circle track, a lap track and a game track have unique color coding to correspond to the pegs used in them. This helps the players' identify with their tracks when scoring and viewing their relative position to others.

[0015] The capability of all players to observe all aspects of bidding and scoring enhances the card game they are playing and provides oversight for the scorekeeper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0016]FIG. 1 is a top down view of the card game scoreboard.

[0017]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the card game scoreboard in FIG. 1.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a partial angled view of the scoreboard in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] According to the present invention the card game scoreboard is comprised of a round board with a playing surface of three separate scoring areas. X number of concentric scoring tracks of N number of peg receiving holes, running roughly parallel to each other, allow 2 or more players or teams to tabulate points. Within the circle there are lap and game tracks with X tracks each corresponding to the X number of scoring tracks. Individual scoring tracks are marked with the unique color of the players or teams to facilitate scoring. The design of the card game scoreboard provides a clear visual display of scoring for any game whose requisite number of points and/or games to win can be accumulated with a combination of scoring, lap and game tracks.

[0020] According to another aspect of the invention, the base portion is constructed of opaque material with indicia disposed upon the uppermost surface which color codes the tracks, facilitates board use and indicates the game name(s) for which the scoreboard is designed.

[0021] According to still another aspect of the invention, each player or team has their individual circular track of holes with a color designation to match the color of their pegs to track their accumulative points. Having multiple tracks eliminates the possibility of two or more playing entities landing in the same hole. Having unique coordinated colored pins and tracks alleviates scoring mistakes of moving the wrong pegs or placing them in holes on the wrong track. The circular aspect of the tracks makes it easy to score negative points by moving the score peg counterclockwise rather than clockwise.

[0022] According to still another aspect of the invention, each player or team has two pegs to use on their respective tracks to accumulate their score This allows depiction of each players' present and previous accumulative points providing an audit point if the last move is challenged or inadvertently miscounted. Also two pegs facilitate certain conditions which require negative scoring from the previous hand's accumulative score.

[0023] According to another aspect of the invention, each player or team has one peg to indicate the number of laps gained or lost through points earned or lost. This has the advantage of allowing for different ending scores without increasing the diameter of the circular tracks to accommodate multiple amounts of holes should as twice as many, thrice as many, etc.

[0024] According to another aspect of the invention, each player or team has one peg to indicate the number of games won. Competition tracking for up to three out of five games is accommodated without keeping that information on paper.

[0025] According to another aspect of the invention, one peg of a unique color from the players pegs is available to indicate the amount “bid” on the bidder's circular track, if applicable. This not only documents the amount bid but also visibly shows how many points the bidder needs to earn to “make their bid.” In bidding games knowing this amount is critical to the opponents as well as the bidder.

[0026] According to another aspect of the invention, one peg is used to indicate which suit is named trump, if applicable. This helps players' remember what trump is during the play of that hand avoiding embarrassment and misplays.

[0027] These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, which, along with the patent drawings, describes and discloses a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention in detail. The detailed description of the specific embodiment makes reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

[0029]FIG. 1 is a top down view of the card game scoreboard 10 of about an eight-inch diameter made of an opaque material such as wood. On its face are three concentric scoring tracks, the outside, center and inside tracks, 20, 21, 22 comprised of one hundred-peg receiving holes each. The holes in each of these scoring tracks are separated into twenty groups of five holes 30, 31, 32 by track color indicators 40, 41, 42 which designate each track with a unique color.

[0030] Three lap tracks 23, 24, 25 have track color indicators 43, 44, 45 corresponding to the color indicators on the outside, center and inside score tracks. The six holes in each of the lap tracks are labeled “−1,0,1,2,3,4” by indicia 67. Three game tracks 26, 27, 28 have track color indicators 46, 47, 48 corresponding to the color indicators on the outside, center and inside score tracks. The six holes in each of the game tracks are labeled “0,1,2,3,4,5” by indicia 69.

[0031] Suit symbols, club 50, diamond 51, heart 52 and spade 53 each have a hole in their center for the thump peg. A hole 54 in the very center of the board is used in manufacturing. It is also the place to store the thump peg before the thump suit is designated, or when playing “no thump.” To facilitate scoring on the circular score track the number of points earned at each quarter of the circle “250”, “500”, “750”, and “1000” are labeled by indicia 60, 61, 62 and 63.

[0032] The starting point is labeled “start” by indicia 64. A directional arrow indicates that normal scoring should proceed in a clockwise direction, indicia 65. “Laps” labels the lap tracks, indicia 66. “Games” labels the game tracks, indicia 68.

[0033]FIG. 2 is a cross section of the card game scoreboard 10 viewed as if it were cut in two along the dashed line 2 in FIG. 1. This shows the ornamental shaping of the board's edge 11. It shows peg holes 30, 31 and 32 each of which are about {fraction (3/32)}^(nd) inch in diameter and ¼^(th) inch deep. Pegs 80, 81 and 82 are approximately 1 inch long and ⅛^(th) in diameter at the top tapering to a rounded point at the bottom which is less than {fraction (3/32)}^(nd) inch. Approximately ¼^(th) of the peg length drops into a peg hole when placed there leaving an adequate portion to be grasped when transferring the peg to another hole. FIG. 2 also shows the center hole 54 used for manufacturing and also to hold the thump peg when not in use.

[0034]FIG. 3 illustrates the use of two pegs per player or team to score. Points are earned or lost based on rules of the game being played. Each player or team has two score pegs of a unique color 80 & 83, 81 & 84 and 82 & 85 that correspond to the color of indicator marks 40, 41 and 42 for the individual circular score tracks 20, 21 and 22. This helps players remember which are their pegs and which track they are to use. As an example of using two pegs to score, the player or team playing on the outside track 22 tabulates points earned by moving the rear peg 85 past the forward peg 82 in a clockwise direction one hole per ten points. Using two pegs maintains the previous accumulated score in case the amount taken is challenged or the bid lost. If the same playing entity lost points they would be deducted from the accumulated score by moving the rear peg 85 counterclockwise from the forward peg 82 one hole for each ten points. Peg 82 then would be moved as it is no longer the forward peg to the hole immediately behind peg 85 which becomes the forward peg for the next play.

[0035] Because operation of the present invention should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present specification, a detailed explanation of the use for various games will be omitted for the sake of brevity. It is to be understood that the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment which provides the features and advantages previously described, and that such specific embodiment is susceptible to modification and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description is not to be construed in a limiting sense. 

We claim:
 1. A card game scoreboard comprising: A body portion defining a substantially planar playing surface with three tabulation areas and an informational area comprising: a) Of X number of side by side concentric tracks of peg receiving holes for tabulating the points earned by individual players or teams by moving pegs clockwise around the track. b) Of N number of peg receiving holes per circular track separated into groups of five to facilitate counting. c) Of X number of side by side arced tracks of six peg receiving holes to indicate the number of laps gained or lost which when used in conjunction with the scoring tracks can accumulate higher scores. d) Of X number of side by side arced tracks of six peg-receiving holes to indicate the number of games won can accommodate scoring for sets of games.
 2. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising a base portion constructed of opaque material such as wood.
 3. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising informational scoreboard indicia disposed upon the uppermost surface of the body portion comprising of: a) unique color designations for each of the circular scoring tracks displayed every five holes, b) corresponding color designations at the bottom of the respective lap and game tracks, c) labels and symbols to clarify and facilitate board use d) suit symbols for Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs, and e) Game name or names.
 4. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 2 pegs for each player or team in the color that corresponds to the color of the circular scoring track they will use. The two pegs allow accumulation of points by leapfrogging one peg over the other thus providing an audit trail of the last score.
 5. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 1 peg for each player or team in the color that corresponds to the color of their circular scoring track to indicate the number of laps gained.
 6. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 1 peg for each player or team in the color that corresponds to the color of their circular scoring track to indicate the number of games won.
 7. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 1 peg of a unique color to provide a visual image of how many points the bidder must earn to “make their bid” by placing the bid pin ahead of the bidders score pin by the number of points bid.
 8. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 1 peg to indicate the trump suit by placing it in the receiving hole within the symbol of the suit selected as thump thus minimizing player embarrassment of not remembering what thump was and reducing the number of playing mistakes.
 9. The game scoreboard of claim 1, further comprising 1 hole in the center of the board to facilitate manufacture by providing a point from which to measure and line up the board for drilling concentric holes. 